Only the eyes of Ice can tell
by Rose H. McKellen
Summary: The story of a old friend relizing the past of her Grandmother,who was a great hero for 218 years.Sakura stays with a friend and finds out what she must do to free the soul of her Grandfather.She must also help the preistess of Suzaku,for her secret past.


Rough draft!

Rain poured from the crieing clouds above the palace. It was dark and cold, like something was about to happen, but what?

A cloaked figure stood at the palace gates, their blades drawn, two daggers with hilts of onxy, this man seemed like he wanted to shed blood, but yet they looked like they couldnt let go of the weapons. Blood was pouring from a great wound across his side, anouther wound that had been inflicted to his left shoulder, it seemd to have bairly missed his heart. Wait was this figure a man? They wore pants and shirt, but they looked to short to be a man and they were small. A black panther stood by the firgure, its eyes of ice blue, firce as a ice storm.

"Your highness, theres a armed man at the gate, he keeps yelling for you. What should we

do? I have my archers set up around the gate," said a high looking gaurd.

A young man with long brown hair looked at him, "No, dont open fire, I'm going to the gate."

Just then Miaka and Tamahome ran up to him. Miaka spoke, "Hotohori, whats going on?"

"Oh just someone at the gate, I'll take care of it, just go back to bed"

"Sir, we need to do something," said a random gaurd.

At that moment Hotohori grabed his blade and walked outside. He told them to open the gate and he walked through.At his first glance he saw a wounded man, and second he saw a greaving woman. Hotohori just looked at her trieing to see under the hood all he could see were tears. He could clearly see she was in pain, but not from the wounds. By the look of her, she had been fighting many battles to get here. The woman shethed her daggers.

The woman looked up to the point when he could only see deep blue eyes stairing sadly at him ."Hotohori..." She managed to mumble.

"Sakura" he sad smileing slightly.

Hotohori walked slowly twords her when he noticed a troop of men riding twords the palace. They looked like bandits but rode like soldiers. The hooves of their hourses splashing in the puddles on the dirt road.Clearly they wanted someone dead. Sakura was looking at them as they came and tried to draw one of her daggers, but it fell to the ground. The woman looked like she was about to fall over. As she began to fall, young Hotohori caught her, he picked up her frail body and ran into the gates. The panther picked up the dagger and walked into the gate casualy.He rushed to a room where he laid the poor woman in a large bed. Hotohori then looked behind him to see Miaka standing their confused.

"Miaka please go to bed..."Said Hotohori with a sigh, he looked worried.

She looked at him, "I'll go look for a doctor...She looks like she needs one."Miaka then left.

Sakura's hood fell to the pillow. Her face looked alot like Nuriko's but her hair was jet black, and eyes of blue. Sakura was pale and looked so weak, you could tell that she had been crieing for a while. But why did she run to here and look hostile.

Hotohori talked to her in a soft voice, "Sakura, why did you come here?"

She didnt answer for a moment and spoke painfully, "They...killed...grandmother...nowhere else...to go..."

Hotohori looked shocked and slightly scared for Sakura. Sakura's grandmother had lived ot be over a hundred years old, she looked like she should be 40 though. No matter what came up Ice Flame was always there with young Sakura in hand. Ice Flame useto always come to the palace once a month when Hotohori's mother was their. She would tell how to heal people and what to do if they were attacked. Sakura and Hotohori use to play in the garden all the time while Ice flame talked. The years of inocents.

The woman spoke again," Her last words...were...I finaly get to see him again..."

It was true that Ice Flame had once loved. A man from the Genbu seven. But Ice Flame looked like she would never die all the times she had fought battles for the side of good and all the times she wanderd the country saveing people from bandits.

"Hotohori...I'm alone...again..."Sakura' eyes closed and she drifted off into darkness.


End file.
